I am currently in Xinjiang Province, northern China, with Dr. Qi Yin, our collaborator from the Chengdu Institute of Biology (CIB), which is part of the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS). We have funding from CAS to study the evolution of complex visual signals in toad-headed agamas (Phrynocephalus) and this is the second year . . . → Read More: Dispatches from the field: touring China’s deserts in search of toad-headed agamas

When you see the colorful and threatening face above, what response does this evoke? Imagine a lizard predator about to grab a lizard and suddenly it flares it’s cheek flaps and . . . → Read More: What makes an angry Phrynocephalus mystaceus?

Our great friend and colleague Dr. Qi Yin of the Chengdu Institute of Biology, who is an associate of the lab, has just finished building an amazing complex of enclosures at Xiaman Conservation Station in the Zoige Wetland Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province. We like to think of this as the Chinese branch of the . . . → Read More: New lizard enclosures in China!

We are currently in a race against the clock. Unfortunately the weather hasn’t exactly been kind to us. Yesterday was great, we had a nice sunny day and collected tons of data. (We are in China visiting and assisting Dr. Qi Yin on his toad-agama project with an eye to setting up future collaborative . . . → Read More: Dispatches from China part 2: lizards, yak poo and high altitude basketball